HMP Clan - Oct 08 - Blended Family w/ ASD Son

[friendswithdave]

This is my FIRST trip report! Well, technically speaking, my first pre-trip report. I can’t say it’s my first trip report if it isn’t a trip report. Anyhoo…. Here goes!

First, about us! OUR FAMILY (HMP is squnch together of the first letter or our last names!)

I am friendswithdave (FWD), a regular guy, loves sports, my kids, and taking trips, especially to amusement parks (and to the beach)! I grew up going to Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens (both in VA) about once a year, so those two are my ”home parks.” I went to Disneyworld once, in 1973.

DW is a regular gal , loves to knit, play with her kids, and loves to travel too!

We have four kids. Two are mine from a previous marriage, and two are hers from a previous marriage. And despite the fact that we are still technically newlyweds, we feel very much like one big happy family.

My two kids are:
RP, 7. All boy, loves to run, play sports, and is full of energy. Wears his emotions on his sleeve though. Has a healthy fear of new things, so there are still quite a few rides he can do but isn’t ready for yet.

JP, 5. All girl. Loves princesses and playing inside games. Very social and popular with the other gals. Makes friends easily. She is the most brave of the bunch. She will ride pretty much anything she is tall enough for. That’s my girl!

Her two kids are:

RM, 9. Boy who likes to read, loves Harry Potter and his new DS. Very emotional child, not afraid to cry or share his feelings. Hasn’t been to too many amusement parks, so is tentative for the big rides.

BM, 7. Boy who is high functioning autistic. In many ways is like other children, but has trouble breaking routines, and communicating and interacting with peers. Very happy boy who just loves to laugh and have fun. Not sure how he will do with 3D or other similar rides. We may need to avoid these, for his sake.

Whoa, that's a big picture! Sorry.

Anyway, the three you see there are JP, me, and RP! This is us on the train at Busch Gardens Europe this past weekend.

That is RM, BM, and DW! Also on the train at BG.


The children spend about half their time with us, and half with their other parents.

Next up: Our trip, and Who sat on the salad?

 

[friendswithdave]

OUR TRIP

We are leaving for Orlando on Friday evening, Oct. 3. We are planning to drive all night and arrive in The Kingdom around 7:00 AM. I know, I know, our we nuts??? Well, I have done this twice before, without any problems. Granted, that was when I was working the night shift, but I still think this will be doable. DW will drive the first 3 hours or so, and I will rest some more. Then, she will sleep the rest of the way while I drive, another 6 hours. When we get there, the daylight and excitement of being at Disney will get me through the day. Once 5 or 6 rolls around and we are in our condo, I will be “out” like a light!!!

We plan to stay for 9 days, and return Sunday evening, Oct 12. We will be visiting all four Disney parks, Seaworld, and a water park, probably Aquatica.

OUR DISNEY HISTORY

My kids and I have been twice before, in Fall of 05 and Fall of 04. DW and her kids went in Spring of 04. Both of my trips were great. We crammed in a ton of stuff each week, but still did not feel like we overdid it. That is just how I like to roll! We visited MK, HS, AK, both Universal parks, and Seaworld on both trips. (Truth be told, I enjoyed IoA more than any other park, but )

When DW went with her kids, their trip was not so magical. It was during Spring Break , with extended family , staying far off-site , and RM and BM had major over-stimulation issues at the parks. This was before BM was diagnosed with autism . RM and BM did not handle the crowds, heat, and rides well at all. It was just too much for them . The lack of magic on this trip was a major reason why DW was tentative about going back. However, I convinced her that we could have a truly magical trip. All it took was proper planning and the right mind-set for everyone in the family!

We went to Kings Dominion once last year, and that was a good trip. We went on a weekday when it was not too crowded , and everyone really had a great time. Tomorrow, we are going to Busch Gardens , another dress rehearsal of sorts for our Disney trip. (I’ll try to give you a TR for there, in case you care ) DW and I went a month ago without the kids . Of course, we had a great time, although it was pretty chilly that day.

Next up: More on This Trip, and Bouncing Baby Buggy Bumpers!

 

[friendswithdave]

THIS TRIP

Now, I am a planner by nature, and certainly more than a bit OCD. (However, from reading this site, I think EVERYONE on here might be OCD! ) Therefore, once we determined that we were going to take this trip, I started in earnest gaining all the information I could about the parks we were going to visit. We got a new Unofficial Guide, and even forked over the $19 for TGM (I am very thrifty by nature!).

We first made the decision to go in February. It didn’t take us long to decide that Oct was the right time to go. RM and BM are tracked out from school. RP and JP will have to miss school, but we timed it so just 4 days will be missed instead of 5. Beats the heat of the summer and the crowds of Christmastime .

Next we started pouring over accommodation information. We decided an off-site condo was best for our crowd of 6 . After scouring the web for the best deals, we found a condo about 8 minutes from the world. We are getting it for $75 per night , total including taxes and fees. I must say I am proud of this find . 3 bedroom condo, with very close pool, for under $600 during our 8 night stay .

I promised a TR for our Busch Gardens trip over the weekend. Lemme work on that and try to add a few pics.

SO: Up next: Our Busch Gardens Europe TR, and Flying Walendas can't really fly!

 

[friendswithdave]

This is my first time trying to post pictures, so I hope you will bear with me if this does not turn out....

Hey yall!

I thought I would write a mini-TR of our Busch Gardens trip here, to test my writing skills and hopefully get some feedback from you guys on how I did!

We have been talking about this trip for a few months, and really planning it for a few weeks. We didn’t tell the children about it ahead of time so it would be a nice surprise for them. However, DW let the cat out of the bag the day before cuz the kids were on to her while she was packing and preparing. The only thing they knew was we were taking a day trip, so I guess it was OK.

DW and I already had our season tix bought a month ago. I bought day tix for the kiddies over the net a few days ago. Used a discount code – I love that!

So, DW and I got up around 6:00, although I was already awake and rarin to go! I would have gotten up earlier, but didn’t wanna make DW grumpy by rousting her outta bed to early. I showered and got to wake the kids. I started with BM because he is the toughest to get outta bed. He didn’t understand Busch Gardens, but when I told him it was like Kings Dominion, that helped. It perked him up, but he didn’t exactly jump outta bed. It did help when I told him he could wake RM, though.

I went to JP next. She was happy to see me, and happy to hear about our trip. She got up pretty well. Finally, I got to RP. I knew he would be excited; he loves this kind of thing! He was of course, and was the first to get around and get ready. I knew it would help when I told them we would leave as soon as they were ready!

We had done 90% of the packing the night before, so it would be a snap to get our tired butts in the car. And, it was pretty easy. We were out the door by 6:40.

The trip up was uneventful. It is about a 3 hour drive. Kids ate in the car, we talked to them about the park, and not too much “are we there yet”

The kids are excited of course when we arrive. You can see one of the big coasters as you pull in. That scared them a little until we told them they would not have to ride any of the big coasters. We got parked, trekked over to the entrance (the $10 lot is a much longer walk to the entrance than the $20 lot), took the potty break, got to the turnstiles, and split up.

DW and BM went to guest services to get a Guest Assistance Card (GAC). We knew this would help him endure the day better. More about the GAC later. I went with the rest of the gang through the bag check line and then to Guest Services. We had no trouble getting the GAC and we were in the park! Woo Hoo!

Now it’s funny, we headed in about 9:55 and I thought it was supposed to open at 10:00. Not sure what the deal was with that. When we got to the first ride, right at 10:00, it was running. I don’t know if that ride had just begun or they opened early. Anyway, no complaints from me or my crew.

ESCAPE FROM POMPEII. 2 minute line. Now, in retrospect, we should not have made this our first ride. DW and I did this twice on our last trip, and I should have known better. However, it was the first real ride we got to, and I was rarin to ride something. Both RP and BM did not want to ride because they saw the big drop. (This ride is like Splash mountain, except lasts 1.5 minutes and has a Pompeii is burning and falling theme. Nicely done, though. I enjoy it. Cool fire effects.) We talked them into it, but it was not a good start overall. There was crying on the hill up, and even afterwords, lots of “I’m not doin that again!” JP and RM liked it, though. BM liked the drop at the end, but the fire scared him. RP liked the fire, but not the big drop. OK, ok, let’s try something a little easier next.

TURKISH DELIGHT. No line. Typical teacup ride. Big Turkish Tea Kettler in the middle of the ride. Well themed. The kiddies were all happy with this one. DW and RM went in one cup, the rest in mine. A fun ride, everyone was happy again. No terribly fast spinning, these did not seem to want to spin that fast, which was fine by me. I don’t think I would actually get sick, but I didn’t want that sicko feeling either. DW may actually get sick if she spun too much. However, no worries when we all got off.

ROMAN RAPIDS. No line. Typical river rapids ride, well themed though with Roman Ruins here and there. This was one of our highlights. The boats seated six, which is our crew size – perfect! Getting into the boats was no problem. The fun began immediately. I feign fear immediately, which the kids loved. We went on around, all of us getting a little wet. The big waterfalls are near the end, and half the boat gets soaked. Luckily, that’s not my half! Woo Hoo. DW, BM, and RM take the brunt of the soaking. No worries, though. DW feigns anger, but I can tell she enjoyed it. However, this was our second wet ride of the day, and it wasn’t too hot yet. Maybe we should have done this after lunch. Oops. Oh well.

DW and RM enjoying the teacups!

JP on the Roman Rapids

Up next, more BG, and Why does the tag go in the inside of the underwear?

 

[friendswithdave]

TRADEWINDS. No line. Next we head back towards the Himalayan type ride. JP was too little, but no worries here either. They had a mini-himalayan nearby, so we split up. JP and I rode the little one, the rest rode the big one. We met up afterwords and all were happy after that one. So far we are 3 out of 4 for rides. Seems a good start to me!

So we head out of this San Marco area into the rest of the Italy area. Here they have Di Vinci’s Gardens, a very nicely themed area based on some of Di Vinci’s drawings. It features five rides: a battering ram, a flying carpet, a scrambler type ride that goes up in the air a little, and two kiddie rides. We head to the battering ram.

BATTERING RAM. No line. What? You guys don’t wanna ride this? Look, it doesn’t go very high? Nope. OK, next.

FLYING CARPETS. We queue up for this one, waiting for the next cycle. We would be on the next cycle. Only RP prefers not to go. I tell him to suck it up, everyone else wants to. Uh-oh. BM doesn’t want to. Now JP doesn’t want to. OK, now what. Here, I’ll take BM, RP, and JP, and we will go on the Flying Machine (scrambler type), you two can ride the magic carpet. So we do.

RP and BM (far left in pic) on the Flying Machine.

FLYING MACHINE. No line, but the cycle time is very long because there is one worker. We wait for about 10 minutes before we board. DW and RM finish and get it our line, but by then they will not get on our ride. I tell them we will head to the little gliders and meet them there after they finish the flying machine. So, we ride it. It is a fun ride. I ride with JP, and BM and RP ride together. We all love it. Great fun! Really feels like flying!

BALLOONS. I see the queue for the Little Gliders is just long enough that we will not get on the next ride. So, I put them in the queue for the Balloons ride. This is a kiddie ride that puts you in balloons and you go in a circle. Kids like it, I get to rest nearby.

So, the crew all gets back together, and we head to Oktoberfest! It is about 11:15 by now, and we have ridden, what, 7 rides? Great! Doin great! And we haven’t used the GAC yet.

OKTOBERFEST. We cross the bridge from Italy to Germany and get our first good look at the big coasters. Big Bad Wolf, is the tamest of these, and I was hoping I could get the clan to ride this one. However, one look at the train coming down the first hill was enough for all but JP to say NO. I didn’t want to ride it that bad, so we passed on that. Let’s just beat the lines and get some lunch!

DAS FESTHAUS. Line about 10-15 minutes for food. I have always loved this place. It seems every time we went to BG when I was a child, we ate there. The food was always good, and show was fun. I remember doing my share of dancing with the show. This time was no different. We split the group because the two food lines served different things. DW, RP, and I split two sausage sampler platters, the other kids got pizza or hot dogs. Everyone was happy with their food, and as soon as we got seated, the show started! It doesn’t get any better than this!

Everyone enjoyed the show. All but BM even joined the dancers. They were so cute, and JP loves to dance. However, after they were done with one dance, everyone returns but JP. Where is she??? I look around, and I see the dancer leading her off IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! HEY, get back here with my daughter!! (OK, I didn’t say that, but I was thinking it.) So I chased um down before JP got too worried that she could not find me. Still it was a wonderful experience.

I’ll go ahead and make my first food comment: It was fabulous! The german sausages, sauerkraut, and red cabbage were all authentic and just delicious! And the cake? Incredible. We got two sausage platters, a pizza, a hot dog, four drinks, and two huge pieces of cake, all for $40. Yes, six of us ate a great meal in a theme park for $40! The two meals here were easily the best value I have experienced in any theme park ever.

Up next: More rides, and RP has a problem with a BM

 

[friendswithdave]

OK, on to more rides! The park is definitely more full now than when we went in to eat. It is probably 12:30 by now. This is where the GAC is gonna come in handy. The purpose of the GAC is so families with special needs children can have a great park experience like other families. For all the minor rides in the park, we head to the ride exit, and show the GAC. Once we do this, they will let us on the next cycle. For the bigger rides (about 10 total), they will give you a return time. You return that time or within an hour, and get straight on the ride. The GAC made a HUGE difference for us in the park. In the end, it boiled down to this: Without the GAC, we would not have had a great day, and we would not have bought season tickets for everyone at the end of the day. It made that much difference. OK, back to the rides. We used the GAC for every ride from now to the end of the day, but I will try to give you an estimate of the queue times.

DER WIRBELWIND (giant swings, 20 min?). This is a pretty ride, the theming on the middle part is nice. This was a fun one for everyone, although a few were a little tentative about getting on. In the end, though, all fun, no worries. Next, please.

RED BARON PLANES. (I’m not sure if this is the real name. Kiddie ride planes that go in a circle and up and down. No line.) Only the three little ones did this one. However, they enjoyed it. The rest of us got a five minute rest.

BUMPER CARS. 20 minute queue? Again, fun for everyone! We all paried up in these, JP and I, DW and BM, and RP and RM. We all got our knocks in!

SCRAMBLER. 20 min queue? RP really likes this one. DW and RM sat this one out too. However, little ones love it, and I like it too.

OK, we’ve done everything in this area, now what? JP has been begging to ride a carousel for over a month, so let’s head over there. But wait, we need to ride the Log Flume. We have to get a GAC reservation for that. So we trek over to the log flume. It’s on our end of the park, but not a short walk away. We head there, get our reservation, and head to the carousel. DW and BM skip this one to make a bathroom run. When they get back, BM cries because he is afraid he will miss the ride. No worries, we all ride again. JP is ecstatic! Two carousel rides. She really is the cutest thing! What now?

SKYRIDE. Hey, there’s the skyride (20 min queue)! Let’s take it over from New France to Aquataine, then walk to the Log Flume. Now all along RP has said he does not want to ride the Flume. Too scared. Now, his stomach is upset. Methinks he has the rare disease known as log flumitis. We sit for a few minutes, then head that way. Still, log flumitis. I tell him everyone else wants to ride, and it is not that bad.

LOG FLUME. (40 min queue) So we get there, and I convince him to get on. Funny, he wants to ride in the back, alone. So JP and I in the front, RP in the back. The other three get in the next log. All in all, a standard log flume. Little drop off the first hill, medium drop in the middle, and big drop at the end. During the ride, Riley did OK, no crying or pouting. I think he enjoyed it in the end, but not enough that he wanted to ride again. DW, RM, and BM all loved it! JP and I did too.

Next I think we took a water break. I was smart enough to sneak in 3 water bottles in my backpack, and a cup for each kid. This was great in that they could all have water when they wanted it, and it didn’t cost us $20 just for water!

At this point we decided we needed to do something a little slower to give everyone a break. How about Pirates 4D? Yay from RP and JP, nay from RM and BM. We head back to the skyride to get to England for the show. We’re about 35 min early, so we get a funnel cake and sit a spell. Finally it’s time for the show. BM does not want to go, so we don’t make him. A 3D movie could really freak him out. So DW and BM skip the show and decide to ride the skyride around the park, and I take the rest to the show.

PIRATES 4D (theater almost full) RM continues to pout about having to go to the show. The funny thing is, he loves TV and movies to the point of obsessing over them sometimes. However, his is afraid this will be scary, so the pouting. He does not want the 3D glasses, but I make him get some. If he watches without them, he might get a headache. Finally the show starts. It’s a fun movie, geared towards kids. Some neat effects with water and wind during the movie. All liked it in the end. By the way, this is shown in the Globe Theater. It really is an pretty theater, and very large.

We meet back with DW and BM, and we are all together again. Heading back into the park, I see the Clydesdales. JP loves horses, so she, RP, and I wait in line to pet one. After about 7 minutes, we get to the front. They both love it, and remark how soft the fur is. They pose for the obligatory pic (which we never buy), and we move on.

I think at this point we head to Land of the Dragons. RP has been beggin to do this all day. I told him if he rode the Log Flume, he could have “extra time” there. He bought this. We take the skyride over there. Before we leave, he thinks he has to go poop. However, after waiting awhile near the Clydesdales, he gives up because the line isn’t moving. I worry this may become a problem…

So we get there, and he and JP are rarin to go! However, RM and BM don’t want to play at all! They just want to sit! They don’t have near the endurance my kids have, so we give RP and JP their orders to stay together and take 30 min, and we sit and wait. After 10 min they return. Riley needs to go again. I also think the crowds in there were so thick that it wasn’t that much fun.

LAND OF THE DRAGONS. This really is a great area for toddlers and young children. Four or five kiddie rides, plus a huge climbing / net area, and a smaller water play area.

So we head out towards the log flume while looking for a restroom. Thankfully, we find one and get him in there before it becomes a problem. He has had bathroom problems in the past, and I brought a change of clothes for him I the park in case of an accident. Luckily, we did not need them. We get another reservation for the Log Flume, then head for the pet show.

Up next: Eat in the park? and Could Peter Piper have picked beets instead?

 

[friendswithdave]

PET SHENANIGANS From here we head to the pet show. As theme park pet shows go, this is a little sub-par to me. We get there about 8 minutes early, and it is almost full to capacity. We have to sit on the side and we sometimes are obstructed by a column. I let Josie sit in my lap when she can’t see. The show is mostly dogs and cats, with a few birds and a pig thrown in. However, the kids enjoy it, so all is good.

At this point, we split up again. I take RP and JP to look in the animal area. DW takes RM and BM and head to the Log Flume for another ride. On our way to the animals, RP needs to go – again. We head through the animal area and into Ireland. He gets there in time, then we head back to the animals. There is a handler showing a Harris Hawk, and the kids enjoy that. We see the bald eagles, then the wolves, and head to the butterfly area. Ring-Ring. It is DW, they are at the train station, and it is coming! We need to hurry to make it! I tell them we are too far away, and for them to catch the train, we will get the next one.

So we finish up there, and head for the train station. At this point, DW and her two are getting tired, are about ready to leave. If it had been up to them, we may have taken the train out of the park. My two still had energy and wanted to do a few more things at least. So we talked them into taking the train to the San Marco area and getting a reservation for the Roman Rapids. As we get to San Marco, they tell me the line is out the wazoo. Their reservation is for an hour later! My kids really want to ride it, so I convince them to stick around until our reservation at 6:15.

While we are waiting, we watch the water balloon game, ride the teacups again, and watch the rapids. At 6:05, we head in and are able to walk on. This ride was opposite the last one. Me and my kids got the brunt of the waterfall, instead of hers. But of course, this was fun for everyone, and it was my kids favorite ride of the park. At this point, DW wants to leave and get food on the way home. I mention the Trappers place, and she says she would eat that. So we take the train around to New France to eat before we leave.

TRAPPERS SMOKEHOUSE The line here was 10-15 minutes total. Here they have a huge grill where all the meat is smoked outside in the middle of a walkway. The smell of smoked beef, chicken, and pork ribs is just heavenly, and it fills this whole area!

This time, DW, JP, RP and I split two platter samplers that has some of everything. RM and BM get the chicken nuggets. All this, plus mac and cheese side and four drinks totals $50. Again, a steal for a GREAT meal inside a theme park. The meat was truly delicious. We will definitely eat at these two places every time we go back to the park.

At this point, we are full and happy. We take the nearby train to the park exit. We had such a good time that we decide to upgrade all our passes to Platinum Passes, which will allow us unlimited visits to all Busch Gardens Parks and their nearby water parks, and Seaworld, all for two years from today. Since we are going to Orlando in October, and then maybe again in 2010, this will pay for itself.

In summary, it was a wonderful day at the park. The weather was warm, but not hot. There were no meltdowns, and only some minor issues here and there. Fatigue did not hit any of us until about mid-afternoon, but with breaks and water, we ended up not leaving until 8:00. We got to ride I think every ride all the kids wanted to ride. We could have seen a few more shows, but that will give us something to do next time.

If you are thinking about going with children our kids ages, or with a special needs child, I would definitely recommend it. Certainly, less crowded days will be more fun. The park was pretty crowded while we were there.

Up next: more planning for Dis, and Did you smell that guy?

 

[friendswithdave]

THIS TRIP

Now, I am a planner by nature, and certainly more than a bit OCD. Therefore, once we determined that we were going to take this trip, I started in earnest gaining all the information I could about the parks we were going to visit. We got a new Unofficial Guide, and even forked over the $19 for TGM (I am very thrifty by nature!).

We first made the decision to go in February. It didn’t take us long to decide that Oct was the right time to go. RM and BM are tracked out from school. RP and JP will have to miss school, but we timed it so just 4 days will be missed instead of 5. Beats the heat of the summer and the crowds of Christmastime.

Next we started pouring over accommodation information. We decided an off-site condo was best for our crowd of 6. After scouring the web for the best deals, we found a condo about 8 minutes from the world, we are getting for $74 per night, total including taxes and fees. I must say I am proud of this find. 3 bedroom condo, with very close pool, for under $600 during our 8 night stay.

Next we worked on our exact itinerary. We went back and forth on most everything, even considering not going on Disney property at all! But in the end, (or at least for now LOL) we decided to spend 2 days each at MK, EP, and DHS, and one day at AK. We are also planning to spend at least 1 day at Seaworld. We are also planning on visiting a water park 2-3 times during the week, but probably for just 2-3 hours at a time. We will do this on the other half of the days we spend a second day in some of the parks. This seems like a lot, but we won't hesitate to cut back on this and skip an event if we feel overloaded or tired.

So, once we had the parks down, we looked closely at our dining options. Again, we considered most everything, but our tight budget is limiting us to just a handful of TS to go along with our CS options. Our current TS of choice is CP for an 8:05 breakfast, lunch at Garden Grill and 50’s Prime Time, and a lunch for just me and JP at Akershus. One night, DW and I are going out alone since my parents will also be in Orlando during our trip. I think we are going to eat at Artist Point, and tour the Wilderness Lodge the rest of the evening.

SOOOO, that about brings us up to today. I have a place to stay, a tentative itinerary, all our dinner reservations made, and have even spent some time (OK, a lot of time!) creating touring plans for us in the parks. Based on the info I have learned from Unofficial Guide and TGM, I am convinced this will be a magical trip! We have started a little savings bank for each of the kids. This will be their spending money for this trip. They earn money by keeping up with their chores , doing good deeds, etc. This has been a great idea, I must say. Their behavior has improved since we set this in motion.

Up next: My personal planning tips, AND, What is the Blue Head Guy on the right lookin at?

 

[friendswithdave]

PLANNING TIPS

I love using spreadsheets, so I actively use two at a time for trip planning. One I copied from the TGM site, so I can’t share that one. Suffice it to say, it is a great tool in summarizing your trip itinerary and your touring plans of each park. My other spreadsheet I use to keep general info about the trip, tips I have learned, costs, prices, and so on.

Something else I am watching pretty close is our budget. Right now it is around $3500. This equals about $72 per person per day, which seems like a pretty good number for a vacation this grand. That includes everything, from travel costs, food, tickets, the whole shebang. It does not include our admission to Seaworld or Aquatica, since admission here is included with our Platinum Passes to Busch Gardens. Also not included is souvenir money, which we tend to keep to a minimum. We tend not to be consumers, and are trying to teach our children the same. This trip isn’t about going to get things, it is about new experiences and memories. Those can’t be bought.

So that brings me to NOW. Left to do is simply determine how we are going to tour the parks. Knowing our crowd has not been in awhile, we will certainly keep some flexibility in the schedule. Of biggest concern is how much endurance will they have. Are we trying to do too much? I will probably plan pretty full days, with the understanding that we can always cut them short if the crowd needs a break.

Up next: I dunno know, Reunion Planning? OR Why not Purple Man Group?

 

[pikafreaks]

I'm really enjoying your pre trip report! Its off to a great start.. and I'm really looking forward to all the details!

We really have a lot in common too!

We have 4 kids, none together.. 3 mine, one his and do joint parenting.
Plus we will be in the world in early Oct too~

I think I may be not ready to start a pre trip report, so I'll just follow along in yours!

 

[friendswithdave]

Good to hear from someone out there. The funny thing is, most of my pre-trip planning is done! I doubt if I will do much between now and September. At that time I will start working on a packing list and more of a firm itinerary for each day in the park.

We have a busy summer planned, with trips to Busch Gardens, the beach, and white water rafting all planned.

We are heading to Busch Gardens and the nearby water park this weekend, so that will give us a better idea about how much time we should plan for the water parks vs. the theme parks. My kids love the water, so we may get to the water park 2-4 times during the week.

Thanks again for stoppin in!

 

[friendswithdave]

I just IMed someone I hadn't contacted in four or five months I guess. A friend of mine I dated a few years ago. Anyway, among other things, she told me her entire family (including her parents and a few others) are going to be in Orlando the same time we are. An amazing coincidence!

Won't it be funny if we end up meeting there after not seeing each other around here (Raleigh) for over a year!

SO, if you're headed to Orlando, tell your friends. Who knows, you might end up seeing them there!

In our two trips there, we never saw anyone we knew. Just curious: have you ever seen anyone you knew unexpectedly in Orlando???

 

[disneychard]

I'm looking forward to reading more....